by Margaret and Melinda Power
On April 4, 2026, Nancy Kurshan presented her memoir, Levitating the Pentagon, at El Mercado, in the heart of the Puerto Rican community. Nancy is a long-time political activist, anti-imperialist, and committed supporter of the Puerto Rican Independence movement. A standing-room-only crowd listened as Nancy read two excerpts from her book. The first focused on her time in Chicago as a Yippie organizer of the 1968 Democratic Convention protests, and the second recounted her experiences with the Puerto Rican community in the 1980s and 1990s.
José López read excerpts from his prologue and spoke of the many contributions Nancy and her deceased husband, Steve Whitman, had made to the community. In addition, former Puerto Rican political prisoners, Eddie Cortés, Ricardo Jiménez, Oscar López Rivera, José Luis Rodríguez, and Carmen Valentín were present and warmly received by all. As an extra bonus, Puerto Rican singer and independentista Marta Rodríguez sang several songs to an enthusiastic crowd. The event was a stirring tribute to Puerto Rican patriots and to Nancy Kurshan’s decades of solidarity with the Puerto Rican independence movement.
